VRMMO ‘Zenith’ Kickstarter Pushes Past $200,000 in Funding with 2 Weeks Left
Ramen VR, a new indie studio, launched a Kickstarter recently to help fund an ambitious new MMO called Zenith, a game currently being built for both VR and desktop users.
iOS 13 Code Suggests Apple is Testing Its AR Headset Internally
Apple may not have shown off any AR tech at the company’s grand iPhone 11 unveiling yesterday, however thanks to some newly discovered code in a recent built of iOS 13, it appears Apple is testing its own AR headset internally.
HTC Vive Cosmos Pre-orders to Start September 12th
HTC Vive Cosmos, the company’s upcoming PC VR headset, is officially going into pre-order starting September 12th.
Exclusive: Vality is Building a Compact VR Headset with Ultra-high Resolution
Germany-based startup Vality is developing a VR headset that aims to offer near-retina resolution in a compact form-factor. This week, Road to VR got an exclusive hands-on with an early prototype of the Vality headset.
‘Battlewake’ Review – Explosive Nautical Combat in Need of Deeper Waters
Battlewake is a pirate ship combat game that seems to have it all; not only does it boast a campaign for both solo and two-player co-op, but also online PvP and a co-op ‘ongoing missions’ mode—certainly nothing to sneeze at in terms of a VR game. All of this ultimately gives it a more secure footing where multiplayer-only titles may have faltered in the past, but some might still walk away from this mostly well-polished arena battler craving something just a bit deeper.
WaveOptics Secures Additional $13M to Expand AR Optics Manufacturing
WaveOptics, a designer and manufacturer of waveguide optics for AR displays, announced it’s raised a total of $39 million (£30m) in Series C funding, something the company says will help scale its business operations in the UK, US and Asia, and build a high volume manufacturing capability.
‘NOSTOS’ Beta Gameplay Highlights the Pitfalls of ‘VR-optional’ Game Design
In development by NetEase Games, NOSTOS is an online RPG due to launch later this year on PC with optional VR support. The game recently had a closed-beta period which gives a good look at how things are shaping up with less than four months before launch. While Zelda: Breath of the Wild inspiration is clear from the outset, the bolted-on VR gameplay speaks to a broader issue of ‘VR-optional’ game design.
Here’s What 100 Hours of VR Drum Practice Gets You
Virtual reality drumming app Paradiddle recently accepted submissions for VR drummers to show off their skills. One drummer, who says they’ve never played drums in the real world, submitted a killer cover of ‘Assassin’ by MUSE.
Valve Developer to Talk About Secretive ‘Flagship VR Title’ at DigiPen Next Week
When it comes to game development, Valve is probably one of the most notorious of black boxes; there’s still no telling what the studio has in store for its promised three ‘full-length’ VR titles, let alone the one planned to launch later this year. Developer Kerry Davis however will be holding a guest lecture soon at his alma mater, DigiPen, to talk about his 15 years’ experience shipping games at Valve as well as his most recent work on the studio’s upcoming VR title.
Lenovo Mirage AR Headset Returns with New Marvel Game & 6DOF Controllers
Lenovo first released its smartphone-powered Mirage AR headset last year alongside its sole title, Star Wars: Jedi Challenges (2018), a collection of short AR games that let you do things like fight Darth Vader & Co. with a lightsaber-shaped controller, play HoloChess, and challenge the Empire in a tabletop RTS. Now, Lenovo is returning with a new AR game, MARVEL Dimension of Heroes, and a pair of 6DOF controllers too.
Björk Releases ‘Vulnicura Virtual Reality Album’, A Collection of Immersive Music Videos
The perennially avant-garde singer-songwriter Björk has brought her entire 2015 album, Vulnicura, to virtual reality. Available today, headset owners can finally get to dive into a collection of immersive music videos that only previously graced museums worldwide via the Björk Digital Exhibition since late 2016, Pitchfork reports.
Immersive Social Platform ‘VRChat’ Raises $10 Million in Venture Capital
VRChat announced today that it has closed a $10 million Series C investment to continue expanding its immersive social platform which is steeped in user-generated content.
‘Trover Saves the Universe’ to Get Free ‘Cosmic Jobs’ DLC in October
Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland loves VR, and his latest VR game, Trover Saves the Universe (2019), is getting its first DLC drop next month.
Small Form Factor Locomotion Device ‘VRGO Mini’ Surpasses Kickstarter Goal
Bristol, UK-based designer Joe Ryan launched his first Kickstarter back in 2015, the VRGO chair locomotion device, which saw a modest £22,100 (~$27,000) in crowdfunds. Now, a smaller form factor version of the device is being launched through a new Kickstarter campaign, the VRGO Mini.
Step Into Daft Punk’s ‘One More Time’ in This VR Fan Tribute
Daft Punk’s Interstella 5555 (2003) is an hour-long film that expertly blends the electronic music duo’s album Discovery with some pretty striking visuals, courtesy of Japanese anime studio Toei Animation. Now, thanks to a group of fans led by Sydney-based VR developer Jake Donaldson, you can finally jump into the crowd as the interstellar pop band jams away at Daft Punk’s One More Time.
